Corruption Emerald Nuzlocke Challenge
by WolfSiege
Summary: Max was just a normal girl in a somewhat normal world, about to set off on a pokemon adventure that was far from normal. This is a Nuzlocke Challenge, read inside for rules Pokemon Emerald Rated T for language and violence. Updates Thursdays.
1. The Beginning of a Legend

**Hey all, so, I'm starting a new story and I know you're probably gonna get pissed off at me, 'cause I can never seem to finish a story xDDD But I promise you, I will give it all I got to finish this. Yep, it's a Nuzlocke Challenge. Don't know what that is? Go here: Because I'm too lazy to type up the rules and crap right now. I'll do that later.**

**So I plan on releasing a chapter or two every Thursday Night (EST), I know, it's Friday. I wanted to get this out last night but I was too lazy and wasn't able to. xP So yeah. Enjoy this short, borring little chapter. If I can type up more tonight I'll post 'em, if not, you're gonna have to wait til next Thursday. I know, I'm mean like that xD**

**Enjoy~**

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**Chapter One: The Beginning of a Legend**

A clear, average, sunny summer day rolled into Littleroot, and while it seemed like any other ordinary day, in truth, it wasn't. At least, not for a young teenage girl named Max.

She was an ordinary, at least, in one point in her life she was. But sometimes, unordinary can be better, right? At least, for this story.

But, on this particular day, Max was moving.

Or, rather, she had _just_ moved.

Moved into a nice, peaceful little house in a nice peaceful little village. But Max wasn't quite happy about it, for multiple reasons, which are soon to be found out. After all, giving it all away right now wouldn't be much fun at all.

So young Max sat on her bed, staring absently at the floor, relatively tired, but finding that sleep was impossible; she had already tried twice.

Giving a massive yawn, she threw her hands above her head, arching them back slightly and gave a huge stretch, wriggling her fingers before bringing her hands back down to her lap.

Deciding she was ultimately bored out of her mind, she stood up quickly. "It's awfully lonely… I thought… maybe this time, maybe this move… this move would be different. But… I guess I'm wrong."

She had no idea how false that statement would prove to be.

Max took to the stairs, walking down them, her hands concealed in the pocket of her black pullover hoodie.

Entering the living room, the girl saw her mother sitting cross-legged on the couch, staring blankly at the television as if it were the most interesting thing she had ever before seen. "Mom, I'm going out," Max called.

Her mother blinked and looked over at her daughter, smiling warmly. "Okay honey! You should stop by the Professor's house and say hello. I think he has a son around your age, maybe you two should get to know each other."

Max stepped closer to the door and waved a hand. "Yeah yeah, okie doke."

"And, if you decide to go off to Petalburg, say hi to your father for me!"

"Mhm… will do Mom. Peace."

And with that, Max left the house, slamming the door behind her and stepping out into the quiet little village for the first time since getting all moved in. "Yeah… sure. Like I'd ever dare to go do that…"

Narrowing her eyes, Max tilted her head up slightly, inhaling the crisp, late summer air and listening to the leaves rustle as they danced in the soft breeze. Deciding it was much too warm to be wearing it, she took off her hoodie and wrapped it around her waist, doublt-knotting the sleeves and pulling them tight to ensure it stayed put.

Then, she let her eyes travel to the house next door, where the Professor and his family were supposed to live. For a brief moment she thought about stopping by, but decided against it. So instead, she headed toward the village entrance, where Route 101 lay just beyond.

"Hey, lady!" came a shrill, young voice.

Max looked down to see a little girl running over to her, grasping her hand with small fingers.

"Y-you can't go out there!"

Max, rolling her eyes, replied, "Yeah? And why's that?"

"There are monsters out there! They're everywhere you walk!"

Max yanked her arm away. "They're called pokemon. I'm not afraid of them, they can't hurt me."

"B-but, you shouldn't go out there without a pokemon of your own!"

Max growled quietly. "Yeah, well, unless you're gonna pull one out of your butt, it looks like I'm going out without one!" And she did, without another word.

Only to hear a sharp cry cut through the air.

"WAHHH! HELP!"

Max's head snapped in the direction the cry had come from, and she immediately took off toward it. "The hell?"

After parting a wall of shrubbery, she stood before quite a pathetic scene.

An older man ran about frantically, a snarling zigzagoon right on his heels. The man looked toward her, acknowledging her presence and making use of it. "Quick! M-my bag! Go into my bag! Grab a pokeball! Do something!"

For a moment, Max just stood there, appalled by the fact that a grown man was afraid of a measly ferret-thing. If she were in that position, she would've just kicked it and ran off.

"Don't just there like an idiot! Do something!"

Rolling her eyes, Max, walked over to the bag to see three identical pokeballs clustered together. _They all look the same… how am I supposed to know what's going to come out? _she wondered quietly. So, she decided to pull a wild card and snatched up a random one, throwing it. The pokemon inside revealed itself to be a treecko, the lizardine creature standing before the zigzagoon intimidatingly.

Immediately, the pokemon stopped chasing its target and whipped its head around to look at its attacker, giving a threatening growl.

The treecko seemed unfazed by this and replied with a fierce growl, before throwing itself at its opponent. He struck fiercely with pound attack, and managed to dodge most of the zigzagoon's attacks, easily taking care of it with a few well-aimed hits.

Max grinned wide and fist pumped. "Yay! That was awesome!"

The treecko stood over the downed pokemon, hands on his hips, standing tall with a proud grin painted on his face.

The guy looked over at Max, his hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath.

"Well, I must say, I am impressed. You handled him well. Thank you for saving me."

He straightened and walked over to her, holding out his hand for the empty pokeball. "I'll be taking my pokemon back, now. Why don't you come by my place later, okay?"

Max looked at the treecko's pokeball, then to the treecko, then to the guy, and pulled her arm back, narrowing her eyes. "NU! IT'S MAI POKEMON NOW HOE!" she growled, lunging forward and biting his hand as he reached for the white and red ball.

The guy yelped and jumped back, crying out in pain. "OW! What the hell was that fo-" but before he could finish, Max was already running off, the treecko right behind her. "Thanks for the pokemon!"

They kept running absent-mindedly in a random direction, the treecko catching up to her and now running at her side. Max looked down at him and grinned. "You're pretty awesome! I think… I'm going to name you… Meeko!"

The treecko grinned a toothy grin and help his hand out in a thumbs up gesture, as if he approved.

Max hadn't been paying attention to where she was going, though, and soon found herself face planted on the ground, the unwelcoming taste of dirt and grass clinging to her tongue. "What the f-"

"God dangit! Look what you did! You made me-"

But Max sat up, and suddenly, she locked eyes with a kid around her age, with shaggy black hair and a red bandana tied around his neck. He wore casual garb, nothing fancy and special, just an orange t-shirt with jean capris, a few ragged ribs in the knees of the denim. His eyes were an interesting dark amber, that Max found difficult to avert her light brown pools from. They sat there, looking at each other, then quickly looked away, Max feeling her cheeks heat up and hoping to hide it with a curtain of dark brown hair.

Max didn't say anything, and was glad when he finally opened his mouth. "H-hey there. Uhm, I don't believe I know you…" he lowered his head to try and get a look at her face, which proved difficult because of the hair hanging there.

Max, feeling the heat leave her face, looked over at him, brushing wisps of hair behind her left ear, but leaving her bangs hanging partially in front of her right eye. She gave a shy but friendly smile. "Uh, no, I'm pretty sure we haven't met before. The name's Max. I just recently moved in."

The boy gave a grin. "Oh, well hello Max! My name is Brandon, nice to meet you!"

He held out his hand for her to shake, but she didn't take it. However, his gaze averted from her face to the treecko standing behind her, and he lowered his hand.

Meeko was positioned right behind her back, peeking out slowly, with his hands resting on the side of Max's arm. Brandon smiled at him, and Meeko blinked sheepishly.

"Hey, is that your pokemon?"

Max was surprised at the sudden question, and quickly looked over her shoulder at Meeko, as if she had completely forgotten about him. "Oh yea! I just got him," she replied, looking back at Brandon.

The boy gave a half-smile. "Sweet! Did you get him from my dad?"

"Hm? You're dad?" Suddenly, Max the scene taking place near five minutes ago replayed in her head, and she blinked, blushing slightly. "Wait… you mean… that guy… was your dad?"

Brandon looked slightly confused, and he cocked his head. "What guy? Uhm… was he, kinda professorish looking? Ya know, long white jacket, the usual garb?"

Giggling, Max replied "Yeah."

Brandon gave a thumbs up. "Yep! That was my dad, though, most people just call him Professor Birch."

Nodding, Max gave a grunt as she pushed herself to her feet. Then she held out a hand to him, offering to help him up as well. He took her hand and allowed her to pull him to his feet, proceeding to brush himself off.

He looked over at her, an awkward expression on his face. "Well, I should get going…" he declared, chewing his lip.

But Max wouldn't let him, not yet. "Wait, what exactly were you doing… just laying on the ground like that? Pretty sure the ground wouldn't be a very good place to take a nap."

Brandon smirked. "Well, you see, my dad being a professor and all, I've developed quite an interest in pokemon as well. So, I was studying a wurmple… but then you came…. and uh… we scared it off…" but just as Max thought he was finished, he quickly added more, his face reddening. "B-b-but, it's fine! Don't feel bad about it! I can always find another one."

"Hehehe… sorry about that. I guess I should be going now though. You said you needed to be off anyway. Don't wanna drag you behind."

Brandon was going to assure her it was fine, but she had already began walking off, the treecko close behind her.

"Wait!" he called after her.

Max turned to look at him, surprised. She watched as he tossed a green bag at her, and she caught it with cat-like reflexes. The girl studied that bag for a few moments, before looking up at Brandon. "What's−"

But Brandon cut her off, grinning wide. "Open it!"

Blinking, she nodded slowly and moved her gave to the bag. She unzipped it and peered inside to see five empty pokeballs nestled together, just enough to get her a full party. Max smiled and looked up. "Hey, tha-" but felt an unsettling rock land in her gut when she saw that he was gone, the smile immediately wiping itself off of her face.

The trainer looked down at her feet to see Meeko sitting there, staring at her with wide amber eyes. Kneeling down, she held out an arm and allowed him to scuttle up it to rest on her shoulders. The little creature allowed a sly grin to creep up on his face, which turned into an amused chirp when he saw his trainer blush.

"What are looking at?" Max demanded, furrowing her brow.

Meeko smiled. "You're pathetic."

"Hey, shut up!"

The two were so busy bickering that they hadn't even noticed something rustling in that tall grass behind them, nor a pair of shiny red eyes watching them from a concealed hiding place. Only when a challenging growl rang in the air did they acknowledge the fact that they had company, and Max turned quickly to see an ash colored poochyena snarling at them, sharp, white fangs bared opposingly.

Max looked over at her treecko with a grin. "Go get 'em."


	2. Kids These Days

**What'd I tell ya? Didn't I tell ya that I'd get the next chapter up by Thursday? Didn't I? Welp, I did, so all you who didn't think so can go and SUCK IT! Haha! I plan on getting pretty far in this story, unlike some of my others... *sweatdrop, nervous swallow* I do hope you turn out liking it. I have some pretty cool plot twists in mind, but right now it just seems like your generic Emerald Story, no?**

**Ehm... yes...**

**Onwards~**

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Meeko and the poochyena stood in the clearing, preparing for their epic showdown. They stared threateningly into each other's wide, fierce, glaring eyes, but not one seemed to dare move; it was as if they were waiting for the other to strike first.

But Meeko soon tired of this standing around, and decided that waiting just wasn't his forte. So, he decided to take the honors of having the first move.

He flew at the poochy, readying a mighty pound and landed the blow straight to her face, sending the dog flying a few feet to the left before landing in a patch of thick, bushy grass. But she wouldn't give up that easily. She got up, fangs at the ready, and charged at the treecko with a tackle attack, slamming into his side and knocking him to the ground.

Max watched anxiously from the sidelines, practically biting her nails as her gaze flicked back and forth from her pokemon to her pokemon's opponent. Each time one of them hit the other, she would cringe ever so slightly. But Meeko had this one in the bag.

He came at the poochyena with absorb, using her own energy to revitalize him.

The gray pokemon let out a huff of air and flopped over to the ground, flanks heaving as she struggled to catch her breath and hopefully get back in the game.

Meeko wore a feral grin on his narrow green face, and he approached the poochyena menacingly, ready to go in for the kill.

But Max had other ideas. Letting out a quick gasp as something suddenly clicked in her mind, she stepped forward and held out her hand with the palm facing Meeko. "Meeko stop!"

Meeko was just about as surprised as his target was to hear his trainer's call. He looked back to her with a confused look in his wild yellow eyes and blinked.

Max reached into the bag Brandon had given her and pulled out a small, empty pokéball. With a quick movement of her fingers, it resized itself in her hand and she chucked it.

The poochyena let out a groan of irritation as the bright red light engulfed her and returnd to the pokéball.

1…2…3…. DING! The poochyena didn't even struggle to free herself. After all, she knew escaping it's clutches in her condition would most likely be inevitable.

Max let out a whoop and a fist pump and dashed over to the pokéball that contained her new friend. Grasping it gently in a trembling hand, she held it up to the sky. "Woohoo! I caught my first pokemon!"

Meeko grinned, though something inside him still grumbled. He wanted to finish that pooch off and get stronger. But seeing Max, his loving trainer, so happy made him happier, if only somewhat, and he dashed over to join her in her rejoice.

Throwing the pokeball in the air, Max allowed her new pokemon to come out and enjoy the fresh air.

"Wow! He's so awesome!" she fan-girl squealed.

The poochyena whipped around and snarled. "'Scuse me, I'm a girl, thank you, and wish to be addressed as such…" She took a not-so-threatening step forward.

Max stepped back slightly and held up her hands in defense. "O-oh… sorry… uhh… didn't mean to offend you."

She snorted. "Mhm, whatever."

Max grinned. "You need a name! An awesome one…. something like…." she had to think for a moment, but then got it. "Shayde!"

Her pokemon stepped forward and sat down, wagging her tail and grinning a toothy grin. "Shayde… I like that name, it's dark and mysterious."

"Good, then Shayde it is!" She bent down and held out her arm, Meeko giving a chirp and crawling up it to rest on her shoulder. Standing up, she said, "C'mon guys, let's head for Oldale. We should rest up at a 'Center or something, and then we can move on out of here.

So the three new friends dashed off to the little old town of Oldale, bigger than Littleroot, but not much more impressive. There, they made a pit stop at the Pokemon Center. Max allowed her pokemon to rest a little bit to regain their strength, and even Max gave way to sleep laying on the couch in the lobby.

But after awaking from her nice nap, they left, and headed for Route 102… until someone decided otherwise.

Max was shoved away and yelled at.

"Hey! Kid! Move it, you're screwing up my investigation!"

"Huh?" Max quickly recovered and stomped up to him. "What are talking about?"

The one who shoved her, who Max could see now looked like some scrawny, nerdy scientist with an oversized overcoat and way-too-big glasses on his face, stomped toward her, snorting. "I've discovered the footprints of a rare pokemon! Move your butt so I can study them!" He stepped forward to shove her again, but she back-peddled out of the way easily.

Narrowing her eyes, the trainer bent down and looked at the "footprints" the scientist had been talking about, only to give a large frown five seconds later as she realized the source.

Standing back up, she turned to look at the scientist, clearly unamused. "They're your own footprints, retard!" And with that, clearly not caring about the consequences, she kicked the scientist in the groin and shoved him to the ground, leaving him to writhe in his own pain and humiliation.

Shayde let out a soft laugh. "What a moron."

"Whatever," Max replied, rolling her tan eyes. "Ain't no one gonna stop me from doing what I want. Don't got time for their crap."

Meeko crossed his arms and smirked. "Amen to that."

"Hey you! Stop right there!"

The shrill voice stabbed at Max's eardrums with such an irritating pitch that Max nearly wheeled around and slapped the voice's owner. "Jesus! What is up with all these frikken people?!"

Turning to her right, she saw a short kid, no older than eight, in a mucus colored t-shirt and overly tight jean capris marching over to her. "Hey lady! You got pokemon! I can see 'em so don't even act like you don't! Battle me, now!

Meeko cracked his knuckles and leaped down from his perch on Max's shoulder. "Well, you can't really say no."

With an involuntary agitated twitch of her eye, Max looked to her pokemon. "Yes I could!"

Shayde padded up next to her and shook her head. "Nuh-uh. You met his eyes. You kinda have to now." She gave a bored stretch and a yawn.

_And how would you know this? _she was tempted to blurt out, but decided against it. Heaving a sigh as she bit her sarcastic tongue, she flicked her hand at the boy. "Whatever. I guess you need some good training anyway, Shayde."

Her poochyena grinned and pounced forward. "Alright! I'm up for a good battle!"

The boy sent out a poochyena.

"Oh come on!" Max swung to her pokemon. "Shayde, come back. Let Meeko go."

"What? No! I wanna do it!" Shayde hissed, her fur bristling. "You said it yourself, I need more training!"

"Yeah, I know but…" Max let out a sigh and chewed her lip. "Come on Shayde, let's be rational. He has a level five poochyena, you're only level three. He could kick your furry ass. Let Meeko go, you can have the next one."

Shayde opened her maw to protest some more, but clearly decided against it and let out a noise that was a cross between a growl and an irritated sigh, and padded back over to her trainer.

Meeko rolled his shoulders and sneered. "Woo! It's whoopin' time!"

To be honest, Max had expected the fight to last for some time, at least two or three turns, but was soon proved wrong when her treecko one-hit-KO'd it with absorb, leaving the pathetic lump of gray fur to lay sadly in the grass as the cocky treecko marched back over to her.

The boy fell his grass-stained knees, sobbing. "NUUU! MAI BEAUTIFUL POOCHY! WE DID SO MUCH TOGETHER! WE WERE GONNA GO SO FAR!"

Max and her pokemon all let out simultaneous laughs. _Like he'd make it past Route 103_, she said to herself, allowing Meeko to resume his position on her shoulder as they turned and walked off with one goal in mind: To Petalburg.


	3. In the Shadow of her Father

**Chapter Three: In the Shadow of Her Father**

The trio arrived in Petalburg not much later, except, they weren't a trio now.

Following behind them, was a giddy, enthusiastic female lotad whom Max had decided to name Khione. Only a level three, nothing much to look at, Max had proudly welcomed the critter with open arms, and they stepped foot in Petalburg together.

Max inhaled deeply, as if the scent of the air was the greatest thing she had ever smelled, and let out an even more exaggerated exhale. "Ahh… Petalburg, home of the worst dad ever. My, isn't it lovely?" she jeered, rolling her eyes sarcastically.

Meeko, who perched precariously on her shoulder, looked over at his trainer's face. "What's wrong Max?"

"Yeah, got something against Petalburg?" Shayde asked.

The trainer sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Oh… it's just, my dad is the… gym leader here. He's such a horrible dad, and has been for as long as I can remember. Always so obsessed with his pokemon and his gym. I hardly even knew him for the first ten years of my life because we lived… far away and he was always 'too busy' at his stupid gym."

They all stopped walking and Shayde sat down. "What about the other four years?"

"Well, he took a break from gym-leading for a while and came to stay with us for like, two years. But he never paid me any mind. I always asked if I could play with his pokemon, or even if he would get me my own, but he always told me off in some way, shape, or form. I disgusted him."

Meeko frowned. "Do you know what he always acted like that?" he asked curiously.

It's because he wanted a boy, she said to herself.

"Max?" Shayde woofed.

"Max!" Meeko called.

Max quickly shook her head as the voices of her pokemon jolted her from her reverie. "Huh? What?"

Shayde sniffed. "Your father, why was he like that toward you?"

The girl sighed. "It's because…. because…. he's just a sexist pig. Before my mom had me, he always looked forward to raising a young _boy _to become a pokemon trainer. He never wanted a girl, because he thought that girls could never become trainers, at least, not very good ones. He thought that they were only around for staying at home, cooking dinner, and cleaning up the house.

"That's horrible!" Shayde cried.

Meeko grinned and let out a chuckle. "Oh really now? Well, we're gonna prove him wrong then, aren't we?"

Max looked at her beloved pokemon, giving a bright smile. "Yeah, we sure are."

And then Shayde blinked and sniffed, like something just occurred to her that should've been obvious long before. "B-but, aren't there like, female gym leaders and… even female members of the Elite Four?"

"Yeah, but he looks down upon them as well. The fact that they made it to that point just blows him away. It's just crude, and sick."

A long silence tumbled upon them, and left Max staring at the ground with such an intent, hate-filled stare that it worried her pokemon, but no one dared to talk…

Until Shayde decided to break that silence.

"So what happened for the last two years of your life?"

Max seemed startled by this question, and jumped slightly. "He… decided to go back… to the gym. He left… uhh… us… alone. But, my mother couldn't stand behind away from him much longer, so recently she decided to move us to Littleroot. And here I am."

Meeko chose to ask a question then that had been lingering on all of their minds.

"Max, where exactly did you live… before you moved here?"

"Huh? Oh… d-don't worry about it. Really, it's nothing special," she tried to assure them.

Shayde frowned. "No Max, tell us!"

"HEYYYY!"

Though reluctant to admit it, Max was rather glad that that annoying cry had chosen to sound just then. Right now, it seemed like the greatest thing to ever happen to her. Max whipped her head in the direction of the call and frowned. "Ugh… what now?!"

They saw a tall, skinny kid, appearing to be around her age or possibly younger, with greenish hair charging toward them, waving his arms around frantically.

The boy ran up to them.

"Hey! You're a trainer right? I see you got pokemon!"

Rolling her eyes, Max replied, "Yeah, what of it?"

"Welp, my name is Wally, and I'm gonna be going off to Verdanturf Town pretty soon to stay with my uncle and I think it'd be awesome to have a pokemon accompany while I'm there, because it tends to be pretty boring and lonely. So I want you to help me catch a one!"

"Oh… you've gotta be frikken kidding me…" Max snarled under her breath.

The kid, Wally, pulled a pokeball out of his pocket. "I already bought a 'ball. So come on!"

Without warning, Wally reached out and grabbed Max's arm before proceeding toward route 102.

"H-hey! Don't touch me! Let go! STOPPPP!" Max cried, thinking about screaming "RAPE!" but deciding that it really would be better not to.

She was dragged onto route 102 and Wally let go of her arm, immediately diving headfirst into the tall grass.

Max scanned the overgrown turf closely until she saw a green and white flash dart into view. Frowning, she pointed to it. "Hey look, there's a ralts. Go catch it," she said with absolutely NO enthusiasm (or any other emotion) whatsoever. _Why couldn't I find a ralts out here? _

Wally gasped in ecstasy and dove toward it, readying his pokeball. "YIPPEEE!"

Looking around and making absolutely sure that there were no bystanders, Max bolted off quickly, running toward Petalburg like a very angry Arceus was after her, only to hear Wally cry out in the background, "I caught it!"

After a brief stop at the Pokemon Center, they continued on to route 104, where Max was determined to meet her next friend.

And meet her next friend she did, coming across a small, female wurmple who she chose to name Nora. While weak now, she knew that the creature would eventually evolve into an awesome dustox or a pretty but baddass beautifly, so on her other shoulder she carried the small bug with pride.

Finally, after running through a massive marathon of trainers, they entered Petalburg Woods.

"Okay guys, be on the lookout. Who knows what kind of crap awaits us here.

They began walking cautiously, when Max suddenly heard Khione spazz out in the background. Gasping, her heart clenching with fear, she whipped around to look at her pokemon, who was crying out, "AHH! GET IT OFF ME!"

Only when she saw the source of the lotad's agony did her heart cease to race and an annoyed frown crossed her face. The sight before her was pretty pathetic, all it was was a cascoon who had dropped from a tree and unintentionally landed on the lotad's back. "Chill, it's just a cascoon. They're harmless." _And stupid, _she thought. Walking over to Khione, she punted the spiky, pale creature off and brushed together her hands. "There. All better."

Khione looked up at Max, an apologetic look on her face. "Sorry Max, i it just scared me. That's all."

Turning back around, Max continued walking. "Mhm. Yeah. Let's just hurry and get the hell out of here. This place gives me the creeps."

Much to Max's delight, it wasn't long before Nora evolved into a silcoon. Basking in her own joy, Max hardly noticed a young trainer creeping up to her.

"Hey! Girl!"

Startled, Max turned to see one of those stupid bug catcher trainers standing behind her, pointing "threateningly" in her direction. "Wanna fight my army of wurmple!?"

The look on his face was so retarded and joy filled that Max almost stormed over there and dropkicked him into a tree, but she tried to handle this situation as carefully and casually as possible.

Walking over to him, she put on a friendly smile.

"Hey, boy! Wanna fight my army of fists!"

"Sure!" The boy smiled ecstatically.

Grinning slyly, Max pulled back her arm and punched the kid in the face, who fell over, out cold on the firm, grassy ground.

Meeko glared at his trainer from her shoulder. "Was that _really_ necessary?" he asked.

Max shrugged and held up her hands. "He said 'yes'."


	4. Creepers in the Woods

**Hello friends, sorry I failed to upload a chapter yesterday x3 I had it all typed up but I wasn't able to get on the computer for long enough without getting yelled at xD (grounded... so much fun *sarcasm*) But, luckily, I'm here getting this to you today, so yeah.**

**Wanna know something funny? You know how on the pokemon center in like, Emerald and Pearl and stuff, it says "P.C" next to door. I always thought that the "P.C" stood for the computer thing in the center where you get your pokemon. However, only recently did it dawn on me that "P.C" stood for "Pokemon Center" -.- Haha, shows how smart I am after all these years, and I've been playing Emerald since I was like, six. *shotdead***

**Enjoy~**

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**Chapter Four: Creepers in the Woods**

It wasn't long until Max heard a loud rustling above her in the leaves of the trees. She looked up to see a few dark shadows darting around in what little blue she could see in the sky. The chirping of the creatures gave away their identity immediately. A flock of tailow was flying over her.

Suddenly, one of the birds darted out of the sky and began nose-diving towards her. Meeko, who sat by her on the ground, stiffened and prepared to attack, but Max held up a finger by her side to signal for him to calm down.

The tailow flew down towards her, and the trainer held out her arm, to see if it would land on it, though it was quite a small hope.

Much to Max's, and the rest of her pokemon's, surprise, the bird did land on her arm, and stare at her happily, letting out nothing more than a joyful chirp.

Max grinned and patted the tailow on the head. "Guess you're mine now. Welcome to the group," she said warmly.

The tailow blinked happily.

"Do you have a name?" Max asked curiously.

The bird nodded. "Indeed, my name is Melody, or Mel for short, if you desire."

Max pulled her arm close and snuggled her newly caught pokemon…

When someone interrupted her.

"Hey you!" the voice called.

Max let out a growl and whipped her head in the direction of the voice. "I have a name you know!" she yelled out.

What she saw almost made her bust out in laughter. The person was relatively tall and rather skinny dressed up all in blue and white with a bandana tied around his head. He looked like he was ready for battle.

Max snorted. "What, did you just roll out of the annual Pirate Convention up in Retard Town?" she sneered. Even Shayde couldn't hide her smile.

"Hey! I don't like your attitude, girl! I would take much please in whooping your butt, but Team Aqua has no time for kids like you. Where is he?"

"Woah, woah, Team Aqua? What?" she shook her head quickly. "And where is _who?_"

The Aqua Grunt snorted in laughter. "Look kid, don't play idiot with me! Where is the Devon Corp person?"

Max blinked. "Devon who?"

Suddenly, movement behind the guy caught her eye and she moved her eyes to look past him. In the brush, she could see a man with spiky brown hair and green vest hiding behind a tree, making a gesture with his hand slicing across his throat and shaking his head. "Devon person… um…"

The grunt seemed to catch onto the fact that she was looking at something that wasn't him. "What are gawking at kid?" He whipped around to see the person disappear as a green flash behind the tree. However, the man who Max assumed to be the "Devon Guy" had moved a second too slow. The grunt stormed over his hiding place and yanked the poor guy out, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt. "Where are those files?"

The Devon Person waved his arms around quickly in defense. "P-please, let me go!"

The grunt pulled him closer. "Not til you tell us where they are!" he yelled through gritted teeth.

Max stepped forward. "Stop!" she called out.

Meeko and Shayde ran up in front of her, side by side, looking ready to fight.

The grunt grinned ferally. "Ah, so it's a battle you want, eh? How would you like to see your lovely pokemon slaughtered, hm?" He threw the Devon bro aside and stalked toward Max, grabbing at his belt and readying a pokeball, then spitting in the dirt. "'Cause that's what's gonna happen, babe. One way or another."

Max glared at him and watched as the grunt tossed the pokeball into the air and a poochyena formed in the florescent red light. She knew that he'd be an equal match for Shayde, so she let Meeko go forward.

The treecko took care of the wimpy little pup with so much swag that Max thought the forest would blow up. She pictured him in her mind with a pair of sexy black shades on his face, marching back toward her with a twig jutting his mouth, a mass explosion in the background. The trainer couldn't help but grinning proudly.

The grunt dropped to the ground by his fallen pokeball. "Urk.. you've got some nerve screwing with us, kid. You may have won this time, but there are plenty of other Team Aquaians out there, most of them strong than me. You will pay, kid. Trust me, in due time, you… will… PAY!

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**Sorry it's kinda short x3 I didn't realize it'd be that short until I started typing it up from the draft. Anywho, whatever. Longer chapter next week. Things get more exciting! **


	5. A Race Against Time

**Derp, kinda forgot to upload this yesterday... haha... no, I wasn't spending all evening playing my new copy of Pokemon Black 2**. **Pfff, why would I do that, so I could forget to finish this chapter and post it? Nooo... I'm not that irrsponsible. Pft.**

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**Chapter Five:** A Race Against Time

The Devon person looked to Max with a worried expression painted across his face. "Uh-oh! He ran off! I better go after him!"

Without so much as another word, he bolted in the direction the grunt had run.

Max scowled. " 'Oh, thank you kindly young lady'," she tried to mimic his voice. " 'Hey, no problem, brah.' Ugh, people these days. I just saved his ass from getting shredded. He can't even do so much as to say a simple 'thank you'." She stomped off in his direction, hoping it would lead her out of the woods. "I swear, men these days…"

They walked on for a minute or so, when suddenly, Meeko stopped and tensed.

Max noticed this and turned to look to her treecko. "What's wrong?" she asked, her eyes beginning to widen.

Shayde's pelt pricked. "Max! Look ou-"

But the poochyena wasn't quick enough. However, Melody was. The tailow leapt in front of an aggressive wurmple's attack (who had been hiding in the brush), and intercepted the poison sting. However, this resulted in the poisoning of the small pokemon.

"Melody, no!" Max cried, bolting towards her downed pokemon.

Shayde stood over the bird, her forelegs spread out in front of her, her face displaying an expression of pure awe and shock. "Sh-she saved you…" she said disbelievingly. "And she… just met you…"

Max scooped the tailow up in her arms. "We gotta get her to a pokemon center, NOW!" she exclaimed.

Khione cocked her head thoughtfully. "Uh, uhm, okay. Let's see… there's one in Rustboro, which is just on the other side of Route 105, I believe." She seemed like she was going to continue, but Max didn't allow her to say anything more.

"We don't have TIME to get through there! Do you know how many trainers there probably are, just wanting to battle. It would waste our precious time, which we don't have much of." She buried her face in the bird's wing.

Nora looked at Max, wide-eyed. "But the only other option is-"

The trainer looked up, staring at something unseen in the distance. "Petalburg."

Meeko nearly choked at this comment. "Max! You're crazy! Petalburg is too far from here! We're closer to Rustboro!"

But Max had already begun walking. "I don't care! I'm not letting Melody die. Not now."

Melody looked up at her trainer. "Thank you… Max," she cooed weakly.

Max wiped away the tears that were welling in her eyes. "I should be thanking you. Now come on, guys!"

The girl immediately burst into a sprint, and her pokemon followed. The team raced through the woods and tore through Route 104. Max had to use multiple potions to keep the dying pokemon alive, but even those weren't fully enough. Finally, they pushed into Petalburg.

Max kept barreling on, breathing heavily as her lungs burned inside her chest. "There's the Center! We're almost there, Mel! Hang in there! Come on, you can make it!"

"Max…" Melody whispered.

Max held a finger to Melody's beak. "Shh… shh, you're not gonna die. You're gonna be alright…" She said it almost like a mother would sing a lullaby to her child, but even she didn't know if it was true, or if she was just saying the words to assure herself,

Melody smiled weakly and closed her eyes, blacking out.

Max charged through the automatic doors of the Pokemon Center. The doors almost didn't open fast enough and she nearly smacked into the Plexiglas, but she managed to slip through and dashed over to the counter. "Nurse, help me, please!" she cried.

The nurse crumpled her brow. "Dear Max, what seems to be the problem?" she asked.

Max held out Melody, and the nurse set her jaw. "She's poisoned. Please, help her.

The nurse blinked at the trainer and could see that she was trying hard to hold back the wave of tears that threatened to spill over. She gently took the bird from her. "I'll do all I can. Why don't you go and wait outside."

Max took a deep breath and nodded, grinding her teeth, trying not to break down right there. She turned around and dug her hands into the pockets of her shorts, walking out of the building with her pokemon.

The trainer stepped into the sunlight and immediately threw herself down on the ground, her back against the wall of the center. Her heart pounded in her rib cage. She pulled her knees up to her chest, hugging them close, and rested her forehead against them. Shayde climbed into her lap and Meeko perched on her shoulder, pulling the hair out of her face.

"Why did she jump in front of that poison sting? Didn't she know that she could've died?!" she cried to no one in particular.

Shayde looked up at her trainer's face, blinking her red and amber eyes, and wiped the salty tears from Max's pale face with her bushy tail. "And that's probably why she took the bullet, so to speak. If it was you, you too could've as well. She's your pokemon. Pokemon protect and watch out for their trainers."

"But… it would take longer for the poison to kill me. She could've died before we left the forest!"

"And if she were a wild pokemon, she probably would've," Shayde reasoned. "But you were there, holding onto her, convincing her we were gonna make it in time, and because she loved you deeply, that gave her enough strength to try and hold on for at least a bit longer. Just know that if she dies, it has nothing to do with a fault of yours.

Yeah, like that was reassuring.

"IT WOULD BE ALL MY FAULT! Don't you understand?"

Meeko pulled another wisp of hair away from her face, trying to look at her. "Max, no it wouldn't be. It wouldn't be anyone's fault. It would be simply fate. Why Max, don't you know _anything_ about Fate?"

Max looked up at her pokemon. "Of course…"

"Then you would know that, even before we're born, our fates are mapped out for us. Our deaths are already planned. Fate knows all, and no body can change it. Nor can anybody read it, or see it, at least not until it happens. So, only, fate knows if Melody will survive. This has all been planned out, even before she was born,"

Max blinked and put her head down, sniffling. "I guess Meeko, but still… I feel sort of bad. I mean, she saved me. She saved my life. And for what? Just so she'd die?"

Shayde twitched her nose. "A life for a life."

A long silence followed, the conversation hanging in the air like an unwanted phantom. And then, the doors to the center slid open and the nurse stepped out. "Max?" she whispered.

Max jumped, not noticing the nurse's arrival until now. She quickly looked up, her heart racing. "Yes?"

The nurse put her arms behind her back and chewed her lip. "Could you come inside please? Your pokemon can stay out here."

The trainer nodded solemnly and pushed Shayde and Meeko off of her. Standing up, her heart pounding, she followed the nurse inside.

The nurse led Max into a room in the back and closed the door behind her. Max looked to her and folded her arms. "So, why'd you bring me back here?"

"To show you something," she replied simply, before walking into a door with a sign that read "Employees Only".

So the trainer stood in the center of the room, her arms wrapped around herself as if she were freezing. Seconds ticked by like hours, minutes like days, but finally, the nurse re-entered, her hands put away neatly behind her back.

Max frowned and couldn't help but tap her foot lightly on the floor. "What do you want to show me?" she asked coldly.

The nurse brought her arms out from behind her back to show the girl a very happy looking tailow, a thin pink ribbon tied around her neck, just like Max had put on Melody.

And then it hit her like a slap in the face.

It was Melody.

Max could hardly suppress a squeal of ecstasy.

"Melody!" she screamed, grabbing the bird wrapped her in a hug. "I'm so glad you're okay!"

The nurse clasped her hands together behind her back and smiled. "Good as new!"

Looking up at the nurse, Max smiled back. "Thank you."

"No problem hun! You did the right thing, bringing her in as soon as you did. Any later and she could've died," the nurse replied.

"To be honest, I didn't even think she'd make it now."

The nurse nodded and blinked at her. "But she did, it's like a miracle. She seems to share a really deep bond with you, all of your pokemon do. But from what I understand, you and Melody only recently met."

Max nodded and brushed a strand of hair from her face. "Thanks again," she waved with her free hand and walked out of the room, walking back outside.

"Guys, she's okay!" Max exclaimed as she stepped outside, holding the tailow out for her pokemon to see.

Her pokemon responded in cheers and she put Melody on the ground, and they greeted her in hugs and praises.

Max watched in happiness for a few moments before grabbing the sleeves of her hoodie wrapped around her waist and tightening them as they loosened. "Come on guys, let's give these damned woods one more shot."

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**Herp, hope you liked it. Things get exicting now, yes? Hurp durp, this is only the beginning. Next chapter's probably gonna be kinda short, and maybe the chapter after it, but trust me, things will GET BETTER.**

**Gah... must... resist... the cry... of... BLACK KYRUEM.**

**God... listen to me, I'm such a nerd. I'll even admit to it. *slaps herself***

**YEEEY. Now it's time to go play some mind-rotting video games WOOT WOOT.**

***rolls out***


	6. The Road to Roxanne

**Werlp, hurr it is. Chapter six. Bet some of my fans from previous stories (if any are out there), are surprised I've made it this far. But I'm proud of myself. xDD Nothing wrong with shameless pride. **

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**Chapter Six: The Road to Roxanne**

The bright sunlight was nearly blinding to Max as she and her team stepped out of the looming shadows of the forest and basked in pure light.

"God, we finally…. made it," Max panted. "All of us… alive."

Meeko huffed and flopped onto his back, enjoying the feeling of the sun-warmed grass on his skin. "'Bout time, too. That place was friggen horrible!"

Cracking her back, Max straightened her posture. "Welp, Rustboro is just up ahead, across that bridge. Maybe we can get some training in as well. I bet there are some trainers around here."

And they were right. There were handfuls of trainers for Max's pokemon to test their skills against. However, all of them were easily beaten, and after about forty five minutes, they trudged into Rustboro.

Shayde stood there for a few moments, her pink tongue lolling over the side of her mouth. "Can we go to the gym? PLEEEEASE?" she begged.

Max grinned in amusement at her pokemon's enthusiasm. "Do you think we're strong enough yet? Don't you want to get a _little _bit more training in?"

The pooch shifted from black paw to black paw. "Not really…" she admitted willingly.

Melody chirped and landed on Shayde's shoulder. "I think it'd be a good idea. I mean, you never know how strong this guy might be."

Nora hopped awkwardly up next to the tailow. "Yea! I mean, plus, I wanna evolve! I'm only one more level away you know."

Khione the lotad hobbled up to them. "I say we all get to level ten, then we attempt it."

The treecko crossed his arms and grinned smugly. "I'm already _eleven_."

Shayde shoved into Meeko. "Oh hush and quite bragging, will you?"

Unable to help but laugh, Max spoke. "Guys, guys, chill out. Let's go see what Route 116 holds, and I promise we'll get to the gym before the sun sets. Kay?"

They proceeded to Route 116, and suddenly, a small pink blur smacked into Meeko, causing the gecko pokemon to cry out as he was flung to the ground.

Max gasped and Shayde readied at her trainer's side. "Oh my god! Meeko! What the f-"

Max looked to see Meeko pinned to the ground by a skinny pink skitty. She let out a sigh of relief, and then froze.

For a while, the whole place was silent. Then came the quiet squeeing sound, which gradually grew louder.

"ERMAHGERD! IT'S SO FRIKKEN CUTEEEE!" squealed Max, who flew towards the pink pokemon and scooped it up in her arms.

Meeko grunted and got up, brushing himself off. "No, I'm fine. Not like I've just been momentarily traumatized by a little pink floof ball or anything."

Squeezing the skitty tightly, Max said, "I'm going to name her Katie." She held out the skitty, looking her in the face. "Your jus' so kyute! You a wittle ball of cutenesh. Yus you are." She had the sudden urge to pinch Katie's cheeks, but decided not to and let the skitty jump down.

"Like, oh my gosh! This is so exciting! I've always wondered what it was like to be a trainer's pokemon! This is so amazing! I'm so excited! And my fellow pokes look awesomely awesome and sooooo strong! My gosh, you guys are so cool! Can I like, have your autograph or something?" Katie blurted.

Meeko groaned and did a facepalm, shaking his head. Max beamed. "Oh come on Meeko, lighten up. We have a new team mate, and our team is finally full! Isn't it awesome? We finally have a six-pokemon team!"

"Yeah, it's great," Meeko admitted sarcastically.

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So, by the time the sun started to set, Max and the team waltzed back into Rustboro, ready to kick some rocky butt. Meeko sat on Max's shoulder, jittery with excitement. They were all excited, actually. After all, it was their first ever gym battle, and who wouldn't be excited. After this, they'd be one badge closer to fighting the Elite Four and becoming the champion. They'd beat the odds, but only after seven more badges. Of course, one of those badges would need to be from her dad, with she REALLY wasn't looking forward to, though she had to admit, it would be really nice to finally get to whoop his ass and show him who's boss.

So they had a quick rest at the PokemonCenter, and then approached the gym.

"Well guys, there's no turning back, not until we have that badge. You ready? This is gonna be fun!"

Nora, who had finally got her wish and evolved, floated next to her, her beautiful wings glittering in the dying sunlight as she beat them gently.

Taking a deep breath, Max pushed the door open and stepped inside. Meeko inhaled deeply from his perch. "Ahhh… the salty smell of rocks mixed with the oh-so-sweet smell of hardcore ass-kickin'."

Max couldn't suppress her giggle. "We haven't even beaten our first trainer yet."

Fluffing up her pelt, Shayde rolled her shoulders. "So who gets to go first?" she asked eagerly.

"I think Khione should," Max told her pokemon, looking down at them. "She hasn't seemed to get much love lately."

The lotad smiled with glee. "Yay! This is exciting! Our first gym battle!"

The first battle wasn't much special. It was young kid with a geodude who equaled Khione's level. However, with a single absorb, Khione badly injured the rock pokemon with absorb and finished it off the next turn, boosting up her level by one.

In the next brawl, they were tag teamed by a hiker and another boy, both of whom had two geodudes.

"Geez, I don't get why people always catch two of the same pokemon, especially dumb ones like geodude…" Max sighed. "Khione, Nora, you two can go."

"Aww! I wanted to go though!" Meeko whined.

"Sorry bro, you can go when we fight Roxanne, kay?" Max promised him.

Meeko gave a curt, disappointed nod and huffed, folding his arms across his chest and watching the battle. He decided it wouldn't be much fun anyway. The two easily finished the four off without letting them get an offensive move in.

"Woohoo! Great job guys!" Max cheered.

"That was fun!" Nora cried, flapping her wings eagerly. "I'm so ready to take on this Roxanne chick!"

They had no idea what awaited them.

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**Major DUN DUN DUN moment, right? XDD Hope you liked it. I had fun... but the next chapter will be even more fun to write. For me anyway. Hopefully it'll be the best, or second best ( I like chapter five a lot ) so far. ^^ Till then, later brahs.**


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